This is a lesson about spacecraft design. Learners will hear the NASA solutions to the problems they wrote about lesson 6. They will then write a nonfiction piece comparing their spacecraft to Cassini, and share their writing with the class. This...(View More) introduction to design prepares students for the task of trying to design a working model of a probe to land on Saturn’s moon, Titan. This is lesson 7 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)

This is a lesson about Saturn. Learners will listen to a read-aloud of the history of Saturn discoveries. Next, they learn two reading comprehension strategies (visualizing and wondering) that they can use to become more powerful readers of...(View More) nonfiction text. Finally, students share their work with partners and the class. This is lesson 3 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)

This is a lesson about the distance to Saturn. Learners will use simple props to create a playground model for size and distance for the Sun, Earth, and Saturn — then walk on their scale model to Saturn. Writing activities engage students in...(View More) reflecting on experience and in comparing and contrasting. This is lesson 4 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)

This lesson is about Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Learners will listen to a narrative "told" by the Huygens probe, entitled Memoirs of a Spacecraft. Visualization and drawing are used as motivators to enhance comprehension and to get students...(View More) thinking about Titan and what we might find there. Next, students will read a factual article, entitled All About Titan and the Huygens Probe, and write a summary. This is lesson 8 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)

This is a lesson about Saturn. Learners will extend and enhance their current understandings about Saturn by reading a series of Saturn minibooks, and learn a note-taking technique that will help them better understand nonfiction text. They use...(View More) their notes for descriptive writing and to compare and contrast with new information that we learn about Saturn from Cassini. This is lesson 5 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)

This is a mobile for learners to assemble, aimed at enhancing their knowledge of NASA spacecraft and scientific facts. Each hanging element of the mobile contains an image and one fact or scientific concept related to the TIMED (Thermosphere,...(View More) Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics, and Dynamics) spacecraft mission. The cover contains background information about NASA's TIMED mission and two language arts exercises to reinforce space science vocabulary.(View Less)

This is a lesson about the search for life on Mars. Learners will participate in three activities. In the first activity (Imaginary Martians) learners will compare a fictional organism with what they know about life on Mars today. In the second...(View More) activity (Looking for Life), learners will define important features of a living organism and use them to analyze three different soil samples. In the third activity (Mars Critters), learners will design a plant or animal life form that might survive on Mars. This is lesson 6 of 24 in a collection, titled Mars Activities.(View Less)

This investigation requires students to locate several major U.S. cities using four different sources: an outline map, a nighttime lights image, an atlas map, and a space shuttle image. After analyzing and comparing the information from those...(View More) sources, students will offer explanations for establishing cities in particular locations. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)

Color is an important tool used in studying and interpreting satellite images. In this set of activities, students will make a color map of the global biosphere, distinguish between and learn the importance of true colors and false colors on...(View More) satellite images, and speculate on how geographers and scientists might use false color images to study Earth's surface. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 1 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 1, while related, can be done independently.(View Less)

This investigation teaches that physical and human features are used to characterize places on Earth. Since types of both features are visible from space, students will use NASA images to complete several activities: matching images to geographic...(View More) places, matching images to the features described in verses of "America the Beautiful" then attaching those images to the appropriate areas on a hand-drawn outline map of the U.S. and finally, writing their own poem to describe those images. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 2 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. Note: The authors recommend that students first complete Investigation 1 in this Module (What Are Physical and Human-Made Features?) to acquaint them with identifying features.The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)